What's really complex about it is you're going to have to do allocations you've never had to do before.

You don't have a filing requirement because you don't have a tax due. But if you had withholding, you've paid tax. It's worth your while to file a return to get your money back.

Compared to some other tax issues, like passive loss rules and stuff like that, it's not all that complicated, but people involved in things like passive loss rules can usually afford to pay for some sophisticated help.

People who don't live in presidential-declared disaster areas get help, but not the most help or the quickest. Those in declared disaster areas but not in the Hurricane Katrina-Rita-Wilma areas get more help quicker, while those in the Katrina-Rita-Wilma disaster areas get most.

Individuals who put up a displaced person at their residence for at least 60 consecutive days can get an added exemption of $500 per person.

You import shoes and make the shoelaces domestically. The shoes don't qualify because they're imported, but the shoelaces do. So you have to allocate costs to [and income from] the shoelaces separate from the shoes.

For taxpayers, it means doing your taxes twice.

Increasing the length of the automatic extension will save taxpayers some time and trouble, but it's still smart to file as soon as you can.

The one thing that can make a bad situation worse is not filing your return or requesting an extension. That brings on a failure-to-file penalty, in addition to possible penalties and interest for failure to pay. It's smart to file even if you can't pay, and pay even if you get an extension to file.